He gave Zhan Haoting a discreet hand signal without changing expression. Then his figure flickered and vanished from the spot. In the next instant, he appeared where Cheng Yao was hiding.
“Madam!” Song Ze lowered his voice, his tone brimming with excitement. He looked Cheng Yao up and down, and only after confirming that she was merely tired and showed no sign of injury did he relax slightly.
Cheng Yao nodded and whispered quickly, “I’m fine. The people who captured me were from Heartless Valley. I’m being held somewhere with a formation, probably inside the valley. It’s safe for now. I came out to pass on a message, but I have to return immediately, or they’ll become suspicious.”
The moment Song Ze heard the words “Heartless Valley,” his expression turned grave.
The impenetrable Heartless Valley!
The Mad Medicine King, Gu Wangchuan!
Entering that place was tantamount to being trapped in a hopeless situation. Almost no one who went in ever came back out. It was a place even the imperial court did not dare provoke!
Song Ze’s heart grew frantic. “Madam, let me go with you! Once I figure out what’s inside, we can coordinate from within and without and wipe out the entire valley!”
Cheng Yao shook her head without hesitation. “No. The formations there are strange and unpredictable. More people would only make things worse. Don’t worry. I have my own way of dealing with it.”
How could she possibly take Song Ze with her?
Teleportation required passing through space. It was her greatest secret, and aside from Zhan Haoting, she would never let anyone else know.
Besides, he would not be able to help her even if he went.
“Madam…”
Song Ze still wanted to persuade her.
Cheng Yao cast a deep look at Zhan Haoting in the distance, who was still under tight “guard,” and said to him, “I have to go.”
She walked toward the shadows.
Song Ze stood there silently for a moment. He still wanted to ask her a few more questions about Heartless Valley, so he hurried after her.
But where was she?
There was no trace of her, as if she had never appeared at all.
Song Ze opened and closed his mouth, once again shaken to the core.
The Madam truly came and went without a trace!
But she did not know martial arts. How had she managed it?
It was utterly inconceivable!
Clenching the note in his hand, he hurried back to report to Zhan Haoting.
…
Heartless Valley.
In the elegantly appointed dining hall, where a faint fragrance to calm the mind lingered in the air, Gu Wangchuan and Shao Yutong were having a meal.
Several exquisite dishes were laid out on the table, each one a delicacy far beyond the ordinary. Their fragrance filled the room.
Gu Wangchuan wore a moon-white robe. His dark hair was secured with a simple jade hairpin, lending him an especially refined and gentle air.
He carefully removed the bones from a piece of tender fish and placed the meat on the plate before Shao Yutong. “This is silver-scaled fish from the cold pool in the valley. It’s highly nourishing. You should eat more.”
Shao Yutong gazed at the snowy-white fish on her plate, then secretly glanced at Gu Wangchuan’s focused, tender profile. Her heart thudded like a startled deer.
Over the past few days, she had questioned Granny Chen about Shen Xiyue’s personality and preferences, imitating her words and mannerisms and doing everything she could to play the perfect substitute.
Gu Wangchuan’s response had far exceeded her expectations.
He had stopped forcing her and instead treated her with the utmost care.
Every day, he asked after her health and comfort, personally oversaw her meals and daily needs, and sent her all kinds of rare fabrics and jewelry. He even served her food himself, as he was doing now, his voice so gentle it seemed capable of melting into water.
How was this anything like the cold and ruthless Valley Master people described?
He was clearly a devoted and affectionate gentleman!
Shao Yutong was practically drowning in this tenderness.
As far as she could tell, Gu Wangchuan was not frightening at all. He simply loved Shen Xiyue too deeply. And she happened to possess a face resembling hers, so he had transferred that love onto her.
“Thank you, Valley Master.”
Shao Yutong lowered her eyes, revealing a stretch of fair neck. Her voice was soft and coquettish, carrying just the right amount of shyness.
Perhaps because her thoughts were in turmoil, the soup spoon slipped from her hand. She instinctively reached out to catch it, but accidentally knocked over the bowl instead.
“Ah!”
The hot soup spilled instantly, splashing onto her hand and soaking the tablecloth.
Shao Yutong cried out inwardly, Oh no!
Gu Wangchuan was a particular man. He was elegant and composed, as pristine as snow atop a high mountain, and could not stand carelessness or sloppiness from those beneath him. This would surely make him like her much less!
Yet the scolding, or even the fury, she expected never came.
Gu Wangchuan dropped his chopsticks almost at once and seized her wrist. His grip was not harsh. Instead, he urgently examined her sleeve and the back of her hand, his voice filled with unconcealed tension and concern.
“Did you burn yourself? Does it hurt?”
When he saw that the back of her hand had turned bright red, his brows drew tightly together. His voice was full of self-reproach. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have put the soup here.”
As he spoke, he took out his own handkerchief and carefully wiped the water from her sleeve. His focused, pained expression made her seem like some fragile treasure.
Shao Yutong stared blankly at him. Looking into his eyes and seeing the genuine worry and remorse there, feeling his warm hand wrapped around hers, she felt as if something had struck her heart with tremendous force, leaving her entire body tingling.
He was actually this worried about her!
He had even taken the blame upon himself!
At that moment, the uncertainty that had left Shao Yutong’s heart in turmoil was instantly filled with overwhelming vanity and certainty.
She had him in the palm of her hand!
This powerful, influential, and twisted Valley Master of Heartless Valley had ultimately been unable to escape the tribulation of “Shen Xiyue”!
And now that she, Shao Yutong, had become Shen Xiyue, she was the one capable of controlling his heart and mind!
An indescribable sense of triumph and ambition began to swell wildly within her.
She could almost see the day when, relying on his favor, she would control Gu Wangchuan completely, turn the power of Heartless Valley to her own advantage, and trample beneath her feet everyone who had once looked down on or mistreated her.
She lowered her head slightly to conceal the excited gleam in her eyes, her voice becoming even softer and more alluring. “N-no, I’m fine. Valley Master, please don’t blame yourself. I was simply careless.”
Seeing how obedient and docile she was, how completely she seemed to depend on him, Gu Wangchuan’s gaze grew gentler still.
A maid came forward to remove the overturned bowl. Gu Wangchuan ordered someone to bring the finest golden wound ointment, then carefully applied it to the reddened back of her hand.
He lifted her soft little hand to his lips and kissed it indulgently. “After we finish eating, I’ll take you to the Hundred Herb Garden. It contains rare flowers and medicinal plants gathered from all over the world, many of which are treasures scarcely seen beyond the valley. I’m sure you’ll like it.”
The Hundred Herb Garden!
Shao Yutong’s eyes lit up, and her heart soared.
That was one of the core restricted grounds of Heartless Valley!
He was actually willing to take her there!
It was undeniable proof of his trust and affection for her!
“Really?” She lifted her head, a bright, radiant smile blooming across her face. With her brows and eyes so strikingly similar to Shen Xiyue’s, she looked especially captivating beneath the lamplight.
Gu Wangchuan stared at her, momentarily dazed and entranced, as though he were looking through her at a figure that had vanished long ago into the river of time.
A tender curve touched his lips, and he said softly, “Eat up.”
Shao Yutong nodded obediently, feeling even more secure.
At that moment, however, a subordinate dressed in gray appeared silently outside the dining hall. His presence was restrained, and he bowed as he reported, “Valley Master, the person has been brought back and placed in the Pavilion of Quiet Reflection.”
Gu Wangchuan had just ladled up a spoonful of soup and blown on it gently, preparing to feed Shao Yutong. At the report, his movements paused slightly.
